>Cheers
>David
Hi David
Will the 3 Tenors be there.? ;-)
Your right about the huge logistical effort by AN back
in 1988, it was unique, they had to juggle 6 long
Passenger Trains on the single track. The ARHS SA Div
"The Recorder" Magazine covered the event well and even
published the Editors version of the Train Control
Graph, worth looking at if you can find a copy.
Somehow now I do not think it will be the same again,
the heart the spirit and the people have gone, AN that
is.
1988 was a Year not only for Australia but for AN.
The Ghan was about to be refurbished.
The heaviest Government Trains ever to run in Australia
commenced when AN ran a 160 wagon coal train from
Telford (Leigh Creek), partly due to the Opera Trains.
Pokie Cars were added to AN's Roster.
The CL class Fuel Tender trials began.
The DL class were being delivered and in March DL 36
handled a 6000 tonne Coal Train on its own with ease.
AN made its first move away from EMD power when they
placed orders for the capable GE based EL class.
The concrete re-sleepering and CWR of the Trans line
was at full pace.
Fibre Optic Communications deal with Telecom alongside
the Trans line.
The first of the massive double deck Stock Cars were
run to Alice Springs.
And to add a bit of spice, good old 3801 turned up with
the Bicentennial Train.
The list goes on.
Sadly though during that Year,
Budd Car CB3 was involved in a fatal (for the Driver
and a Passenger) accident.
The inevitable tearing up of the Broad Gauge in SA
continued with the Peterborough Line.
Yep ..... people can take "The Micky" out on AN, but
they tried, and some of their ideas bombed, and some
were to be picked up by others later.
They were ruthless much to the dismay of SAR fans but
back then they were turning huge losses into almost
break even or Heaven forbid that nasty word for
Government Bodies PROFIT. The Politicians and their
"Economic Advisers" were obviously not taking any
notice.
1988 somehow was a watershed Year for AN, it was never
to be the same again, there were already in place
Political "Stitch a Deal" reasons for that of course.
At least I am happy in that I was able to photograph
and record a lot of these events as were many others.
Cheers
----Tell
Alice Springs NT